New ATM skimmer is so thin it fits inside the card slot

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ATM skimmers continue to pose a problem for banks. The good ones can be fitted to an ATM and go unnoticed for days, even weeks. Just take a look at the skimmer that was fitted to a bank in San Fernando Valley. It sat over the card slot and managed to hide a battery, camera, and flash memory for storing card details without looking out of place.

Now the scammers have gone a step further and developed a skimmer that has no physical presence on the exterior of the ATM. What they’ve managed to do is create a skimmer so thin it slides inside the actual card slot, rendering it invisible.

On its own the skimmer is only capable of reading the magnetic stripe on the rear of the card. For that data to be usable the PIN also needs to be collected, which will require another device be fitted to the machine. However, splitting the two means the scammer has multiple options (cover the keypad or install a camera) and less hardware to hide on the exterior where it is more easily spotted.

It’s actually a good thing a secondary device is required, otherwise how on earth would anyone spot a skimmer has been installed?

So far three variations on the skimmer have been discovered by the European ATM Security Team (EAST), which specializes in ATM fraud and the methods criminals are using. Unfortunately, they haven’t released details of where the skimmers were being used, but it’s not going to be long before details of how to make them spreads if they work effectively.

As always, do a quick visual check on an ATM before you use it, especially if it is one located in a more remote location. If it looks modified in any way, just walk away and find another one. Even if it doesn’t, be sure to cover your hand when entering your PIN in case a camera is watching.